


Devotion

by Fledgling



Category: One Piece
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Fluff, Getting Together, Idiots in Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-06
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2019-03-01 05:29:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13287996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fledgling/pseuds/Fledgling
Summary: “The fact of the matter was he was attracted, in a way, to fighting. It only made sense then that he was also attracted to fighters; the more powerful and skilled, the better.It really was no surprise that he fell hard and fast for Zoro.”Sanji falls for Zoro, and neither of them know what to do about it.





	Devotion

**Author's Note:**

> So this started out as one thing and ended as another, but I’m happy with it enough to post it (also I’m kinda tired of staring at it so you guys can do it now instead). 
> 
> Also I’m really glad “Idiots in Love” is an actual Ao3 tag because that sums up these two perfectly.

There was something beautiful about combat.

Sanji was no stranger to fighting, given his childhood and then his career at the Baratie. While he wouldn’t call himself the best there was, he was well aware that he was better than most, at least in his chosen style. He wondered sometimes how things would have been if he had never left home, if his mother’s gamble hadn’t paid off. They were thoughts he quickly pushed aside.

The fact of the matter was he was attracted, in a way, to fighting. It only made sense then that he was also attracted to fighters; the more powerful and skilled, the better.

It really was no surprise that he fell hard and fast for Zoro.

Even before they actually met, he had known of the other. The famous—perhaps infamous—bounty hunter, known for his ability to use three swords in combat. Sanji had to do a double take the first time he saw a picture of the other. It wasn’t that good of a picture, honestly. It had been taken right before a fight between the bounty hunter and, someone, Sanji hadn’t really cared. All he cared about was the way the swordsman held himself, muscles tensed like springs, a sword in each hand and a third in his mouth. This was a picture of a predator, a warrior, ready and capable of taking down any opponent he set his sights on.

A part of Sanji had wistfully imagined meeting him some day, of having those sharp eyes on him (though hopefully without the killing intent). It was only a thought however, and eventually he was swept away by the increasing demands of being a sous chef, though the swordsman’s face occasionally crept into his dreams.

And then he found him in his dining room, of all places.

He had read the news about him attacking a group of Marines and becoming a pirate—he was absolutely sure that there was a lot of information being left out—and it had once more piqued his interest in the other. The article had only mentioned one other pirate, a captain with a straw hat. That made the other first mate didn’t it?

This was once more forgotten with time, though the memory still lingered at the edges of his mind when a boy with a straw hat _crashed through his damn roof._

So yes, the swordsman he had been on and off interested in for the past three, four years was sitting in his dining room (and it was his, no matter what the old man said) with a man with a long nose and a lovely lady with sharp eyes. As much as he wanted to talk to the swordsman, to introduce himself and ask him if he’d like to share a drink later, courtesy dictated he see to the lady first. Then he’d charm the swordsman into sharing a moment with him.

He really should have known better than to expect things to go smoothly.

Roronoa Zoro was rough and abrasive, always looking for a fight and the rare times he wasn’t, he was either training or sleeping (really, how did someone sleep that much?). Sanji had no problem sating his need for a fight, telling himself it was to keep himself in fighting form and not at all because he enjoyed watching the swordsman fight up close. As for the training and sleeping, well, Sanji still enjoyed watching him then too.

He was totally head over heels for the green haired idiot and had no idea what to do about it, mainly because he had no idea if Zoro felt the same.

Sanji sighed, finishing the grocery list he was making. In all his years of cooking, he had never met someone of Luffy’s size with such an appetite, and while he usually just considered it a challenge, sometimes it was a little ridiculous. They were a few days from the next island, and while they weren’t going to run out of food (assuming no accidents or catastrophes happened), they were going to cut it close. A series of violent storms and attacks from other pirates had delayed them greatly in their journey.

He stuck the grocery list to the fridge and double checked that the pantry was locked before stepping out of his kitchen and onto the Sunny’s deck. The storms hadn’t bothered them again yet, and he was hoping it would stay that way. He reached into his shirt pocket, only to remember that he was out of cigarettes when he grasped nothing but air. He had gone overboard during a fight, knocked into the sea by a piece of broken mast (thankfully not the Sunny’s), and while he had managed to come out of it fine, his cigarettes had been ruined by the sea water.

He could feel the craving grow stronger by the second and oh, yeah, _that_ was why he had gone ahead and made the grocery list. A distraction, something to occupy his attention so he wouldn’t think about the need to smoke. Maybe he should do as Chopper had been begging, cut down to only one or two a day instead of half a pack (or a whole one on the bad days).

He frowned, wondering if the doctor needed any help sorting through supplies, or maybe Robin needed an extra hand (other than her own) in sorting through their growing library. He was about to go find one of them, anyone who might have something he could do to take his mind off of the craving, when Zoro appeared at his side. The swordsman said nothing, staring at him intently.

“What the hell do you need, asshole?” It came out much more irritated then Sanji intended, and he sighed. A smirk crossed Zoro’s face.

“Well if you’re going to be like that, I guess you don’t need these then.” He reached into his coat, pulling something out from an inside pocket. Sanji’s eyes widened as he recognized a pack of cigarettes; more specifically, a pack of his favorite (and very, very hard to come by) brand.

“Where the—”

“Picked ‘em up a couple islands back. In case you ever ran out and needed an emergency stash.” A knowing look flashed across his face, his smirk turning mischievous.

Sanji wanted to reach out and take them, to light one and let the smoke take a few more minutes off his life, but he knew better. A life on the sea (and before that a life among the Vinsmoke family) had taught him that rarely anything was free.

“What do you want?”

Zoro’s smirk fell a little, and his eye narrowed. “Eh? What do I want?”

“Yes, you moss-brained parrot. If you expect me to believe that you got those for me out of the kindness of your heart, on the off chance that I’d somehow, at some point run out, then you must think me a moron.”

Zoro blinked, looking at the little box in his hand. “Well when you say it like that… hell, I don’t know. I saw them while I was in town and it seemed like a good idea at the time.” The smirk was back as he turned his attention back to Sanji. “But if you really don’t want them, then I can just chuck them into the sea I guess.”

Sanji didn’t know if he had ever grabbed something so quickly in his life. He turned his back to Zoro, opening the box and taking one of the cigarettes out. He fished his lighter out of his pocket (it had gone overboard with him too, but he had had the foresight to buy a waterproof one) lighting the cigarette and taking a drag. He could hear the swordsman chuckle behind him, and he turned back around to face him, putting the cigarettes and lighter into his pocket.

“You should listen to Chopper.”

Sanji scoffed, taking the cigarette from his mouth and holding it between to fingers. “Like you can talk, mister ‘I drink at least a bottle a day’.”

Zoro chuckled again. “I guess you have a point. Still, it’s not like I’m going to live to old age anyway. I’ll have been killed long before liver failure can get to me.”

“Then you understand the position I’m in.”

Zoro hummed, turning his head to look across the ship. Luffy and Chopper were marveling over another of Franky’s modifications to himself, cheering him on as he posed dramatically.

“As long as we can do our jobs, then having a vice or two won’t hurt,” Zoro said after a moment.

“Our jobs huh?”

“Sure. We have to protect each other, don’t we? Plus you have to feed everyone,” he chuckled, “which I imagine is not an easy task with this crew.”

“No kidding.” Sanji said. He started to say more, to complain about their captain’s ferocious appetite, when he was suddenly hit by how odd the situation was. Zoro wasn’t much of a talker to begin with, preferring to let his actions do the talking. When he did speak—especially to Sanji—there was usually an edge of aggression to his words. Yet now, leaning against the Sunny’s railing and watching their crew mates, it was as if they were friends. The pack of cigarettes suddenly felt heavy in Sanji’s pocket. Were they a peace offering?

Silence overtook the two of them, Zoro watching the horizon and Sanji trying not to overthink their current situation. It was a failing effort. After a moment Zoro turned his attention back to Sanji, and with a nod, walked past him in the direction of the crow’s nest. A part of Sanji wanted to follow him, continue talking about—about anything, really, and that thought was enough to make Sanji turn around and make a beeline for the kitchen. It was almost lunch time after all, and he had a job to do.

  
Sanji’s heel made contact with the stomach of a man trying to sneak up behind him, knocking the breath out of him and sending him flying. He spun around and kicked another one in the side of the head, hearing the crunch of his jaw breaking. There were still more of them though, at least a dozen, and while he normally wouldn’t have had any trouble taking them all out, the very large bundle of food and supplies he was carrying made it difficult.

Then again, that was probably why they were attacking him. A heavily burdened man, making his way alone out of town without a single other person around—he was, in theory, an easy target. There was also the fact that most of what he was carrying was food. The men attacking him—he was pretty sure they were other pirates—looked like they had seen better days. While a part of him felt a tug of sympathy, the rest of him was very firm in the reminder that he had bought everything he was carrying to prevent his own crew from falling into a same fate.

Two of the men made a lunge for him, one from the left and the other from the right, and Sanji had just shifted his weight to deal with them when the one on his left, and a few others that had been standing behind him, froze in place. They were staring in horror at something in front of them, eyes wide and mouths open. The other men seemed to notice, and as one they all turned to look in the same direction. Sanji looked as well, but not before kicking one still charging at him casually in the face.

Zoro stood on a boulder a few feet off the road, gripping his katanas and glaring at them. His gaze turned to Sanji, and _oh_ , that was what it felt like to be under that intense gaze. A shiver worked its way down Sanji’s spine.

“Tryin’ to make new friends, cook?”

Sanji shrugged, grinning wildly. “You know me, always in the center of attention.”

The men surrounding him were looking more terrified by the second, and Sanji was pretty sure one of them had peed himself. It was to be expected though: even if one didn’t know who Roronoa Zoro was, seeing him was enough to invoke the same reaction.

“So, you gonna stand there all day Marimo, or are you gonna do something?”

The group of pirates tensed, one of them starting to desperately beg for mercy, but it was too late. In a flash Zoro was upon them, moving easily through the group as if he was cutting through tissue paper. He hadn’t even drawn his third sword, using one in each hand to incapacitate them. That was all he was doing, too. No abdomens were sliced open, no limbs removed from torsos. In a matter of moments they were all unconscious, dust settling around them.

“What a mess.” Zoro muttered.

Sanji took a better look at one of them, confirming what he had originally suspected. “They haven’t seen a proper meal in a few days. Probably getting desperate at this point.”

The crunching of boots on gravel was his answer, and a moment later a strong hand was grabbing his bicep. The hold was firm with no room for protest, though there was no pain from it.

“Come on cook. Let’s get you back to the Sunny.”

Sanji let Zoro pull him away from the group of unconscious men, and he didn’t say anything as Sanji shifted his weight and a few oranges spilled from his load onto the road. Neither of them moved to grab them.

“What’s it like?”

Sanji frowned. “What’s what like?”

“Starving.”

Sanji paused, and Zoro stopped with him. He had told the crew, once, about what had happened to him and Zeff when he was a child. He had thought Zoro had slept through it. After a moment Sanji began walking again, and Zoro continued with him.

“As much as it hurt the first several days… I think the numbness that came afterwards was the worst. At least the pain reminded you you were alive. But when the pain stopped, and when there was nothing left but the weakness in your body and the thoughts in your head… that was unbearable.”

Zoro said nothing for a while, and Sanji bit nervously at his lip. Finally the swordsman spoke, “I nearly died from dehydration, before Luffy found me.”

Sanji looked at the swordsman, whose head was turned to look at the sea.

“The town I was in, it was pretty much ruled by a Marine named Morgan. For all he was a tyrant, his son was a prick. Walked around like he owned the place, didn’t care about anyone else but himself. He had this wolf he would let loose on people, and, well,” Zoro shrugged, “it tried to attack a little girl, and I killed it. So he had me tied up to a post in a courtyard, in the middle of summer, and forbid anyone to give me any sort of food or water. It went on for nine days before Luffy found me.”

Sanji shook his head. “Sounds like a real pack of bastards.”

“Yeah. Luffy and I kicked their asses though.”

Sanji grinned. “So is that how you and Luffy met then?”

Zoro chuckled. “Not the best of first impressions, huh?”

The Thousand Sunny came in to view ahead of them, bobbing peacefully in the water. Zoro let go of Sanji’s arm, turning and heading off the road.

“Hey! Where the hell are you going moss-head?”

“Finishing my walk,” Zoro called over his shoulder, “figured you were good from here on out.”

“Idiot, you’ll get lost! And I was fine before you showed up anyway!”

Zoro said nothing in reply, but Sanji could see his shoulders shake with laughter as he vanished into the shadows of the trees. Sanji rolled his eyes, continuing down the path to their ship. He tucked the story Zoro had told him into a corner of his mind, safe from anyone else.

Another thought popped up in his head though. Had Zoro been waiting there for him? It was the only way he could have been there at the exact right moment, seeing how bad his sense of direction was. But why? Had he just wanted to walk with him? Had he known those pirates were going to attack him? Sanji shook his head, dispelling the thoughts. It was probably pure coincidence, and he was overthinking things again.

  
Sanji stood on shaking legs, breathing hard and feeling blood drip down the side of his face. He could hear voices, fighting, but it was muted. He blinked a few times, trying to get his vision to clear. Suddenly there was a mass of green in front of him, and it took him a few seconds to recognize it as Zoro. The swordsman glanced at him for only a second before turning his attention back forwards. There were people coming towards them, from in front and now from behind, and Sanji braced himself for the fight to come.

“I hate Marines.”

He couldn’t see it, but Sanji knew Zoro was smirking in answer.

Over the time they had been together, the two of them had learned to fight in perfect sync. It wasn’t something they had ever practiced, except perhaps when they fought each other. So when Sanji stumbled after his first kick, he wasn’t surprised that Zoro was immediately at his side, balancing him.

“Not yet cook, hang in there.”

Sanji grit his teeth, putting his frustration into his next kick. The Marine’s head snapped back with a crack as Sanji’s foot made contact with his chin, and he fell to the deck of the ship like a sack of flour. His vision swam again, and the next moment he was on the deck himself, staring up at the sky. He heard Zoro say his name, an edge of panic in his voice, and then darkness overtook him.

When he opened his eyes again, he was staring at the ceiling of Chopper’s office. His head pounded, and as he tried to move he could feel bandages around his head. He sighed and settled back against the bed.

“About damn time you woke up.”

Sanji turned his head, surprise evident on his face. “Zoro? What are you doing here?”

Zoro shrugged from his seat at the end of the bed, and Sanji saw the edge of bandages on his chest under his coat. “Wanted to make sure you were ok. You’ve been out for about half a day now.”

Sanji turned back to the ceiling. “Half a day huh? How’s the rest of the crew?”

There was a pause, and then Zoro was towering over him, glaring down at him. “Will you worry about yourself for once?”

Sanji frowned. “What? What’s to worry about? I’ll be fine.”

Zoro shook his head. “Yeah, you’ll be fine this time. But what about the next time? You keep trying to throw yourself between everyone else and danger, like your life doesn’t matter.”

Sanji was confused for a moment, before he remembered putting himself between Usopp, too occupied with aiming in the other direction, and the wildly swinging sword of a berserk Marine. He had blocked the sword with his leg, but the blow that had come immediately after, the hilt of a second sword onto the top of his head, he hadn’t been able to block at all.

“You think I don’t remember what you tried to do on Thriller Bark?” Zoro continued. “No one here wants you to sacrifice yourself for them.”

Sanji didn’t say anything. What could he say? He had already stared death in the face once, stuck on a rock in the middle of the ocean, he wasn’t afraid of it anymore. More importantly, it was _Zoro_ , and that made a lot of a difference. He looked up at Zoro, an insult on the tip of his tongue to change the subject, except the words caught in his throat as he saw the genuine concern on Zoro’s face.

“Zoro?”

Zoro blinked, and the concern disappeared. He straightened up, turning his head to look out the window. “Anyway, get better soon yeah? No one else on this damn ship can cook.”

He turned to leave, and in a split second decision Sanji grabbed his wrist, stopping him. Before the swordsman could react Sanji tugged him down, pressing his lips against his cheek for just a second before he let him go. Zoro stood still as a statue, barely even breathing, and for a moment Sanji panicked, afraid of what lay under that shock. After a moment Zoro blinked and relaxed.

“Well, that’s… huh.”

“Sorry. I’ve been hit on the head, I’m delusional. Thought you were Nami.”

Zoro snorted. “No you didn’t.”

“No, I didn’t. But we can pretend I did if you’d like.”

Zoro hummed, grabbing the chair he had been sitting in earlier and pulling it closer to the bed. He sat down and, after a moment, he leaned over and kissed Sanji on the cheek as well.

“There, now we’re even.”

Sanji chuckled and instantly regretted it as the pounding in his head increased. Zoro frowned, cautiously reaching out and softly touching the bandages on Sanji’s head.

“You need me to get Chopper for you?”

Sanji started to shake his head, but quickly realized the movement would make the pain worse and stopped. “No, I’m good.”

Zoro nodded. “Okay. Just tell me if you change your mind.”

Silence fell upon them, and after a moment Zoro broke it. “So, when were you planning on saying anything.”

“Never,” Sanji said, “since I didn’t think you’d feel the same.”

Zoro nodded. “They didn’t really teach us how to flirt properly at the dojo. I wasn’t entirely sure what I was doing.”

Sanji blinked. “Wait, have you been trying to flirt with me this whole time?”

“I suppose so. Wasn’t a very good effort huh?”

“Well, I suppose I was too busy trying to bury my own feelings to see what you were doing.”

Zoro laughed. “Shit, aren’t we a pair of idiots?” He started to say something else, only to be interrupted by the door opening.

“Oh, Sanji! You’re awake!” Chopper set down the small stack of books he was carrying on his desk. “How do you feel? Is your vision blurry? Any lightheadedness, pain?”

“It feels like someone’s taking a hammer to my head as fast as they can.”

Chopper nodded, opening a drawer and pulling out a folder stuffed with papers, Sanji’s name scrawled across the front. “I see. I need to undo the bandages to do another check, and then I can give you some pain meds.” He turned to Zoro. “Would you mind leaving for a moment?”

Zoro nodded, looking at Sanji for an indecisive second before turning and heading out the door. The door shut quietly behind him, though Sanji could see his shadow lingering through the small window.

“Here, let me help you sit up and then we’ll get started.”

  
Zoro was leaning against the railing by the door when Sanji was finally allowed to leave Chopper’s care. He looked up as Sanji walked over to him, smiling slightly.

“Finally free huh?”

Sanji nodded, his ears still ringing slightly from the lecture Chopper had given him about the dangers of head injuries and being more careful. He reached into his pocket, pulling out his cigarettes and lighter. As he tapped one of the cigarettes out, he paused and looked at Zoro.

“Did you get me those cigarettes for me as a gift?”

Zoro’s smile turned sheepish. “Yeah.”

Sanji grinned, taking one of the cigarettes from his pack and lighting it, leaning against Zoro as he did. “And walking me back to the Sunny?”

Zoro nodded, moving the arm Sanji was leaning against and wrapping it slowly around Sanji’s shoulders. He was looking determinedly at the horizon, unsure and afraid of doing something wrong. Sanji thought it was adorable, and he stepped closer, pressing himself into Zoro’s side.

They stood in silence for a long time, watching the sun sink into the sea. Sanji’s cigarette went out, though he felt no compulsion to light another one. Eventually a new set of footsteps approached, pulling them back into reality.

“Hey, Sanji! You’re ok!” A rubbery arm around his waist was the only warning he had before his captain was hugging him, asking if he was ok enough to cook. Zoro laughed, squeezing his shoulder once before letting him go, knowing he was no match for their captain when he was hungry.

  
Sanji woke up in a cold sweat, needing a moment to remember where he was. The darkness of the men’s quarters was almost suffocating and, if not for the distinctive snores of his crew mates, he probably would have needed a lot longer to shake off the remnants of his nightmare.

He sat up, running a hand through his hair and counting from one to fifty and then back again. He squinted at the clock on the far wall, sighing. It wasn’t even four yet, but there was no way he was going back to sleep. He threw the blanket off of himself, quietly getting dressed and leaving the room.

It had gotten colder since he had gone to bed, enough that he could see his breath fog in front of him. He started to walk towards the kitchen, out of habit as much as anything else, but stopped when he saw the light coming from the crow’s nest. It was a second’s thought to change direction, and he was opening the trap door before he knew it.

Zoro was staring at him as he climbed up, wrapped in a blanket by one of the windows. Sanji closed the door softly, walking over and sitting next to the swordsman. There must have been a look on his face, because Zoro partially unwrapped his blanket, scooting closer and wrapping it around Sanji without a word. Sanji curled up against him, listening to Zoro breathe and, distantly, the sound of the ocean.

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

“No.” Sanji didn’t ask Zoro how he knew he had been awoken by a nightmare. He figured it was from experience.

Zoro nodded, moving so that he was leaning more against the wall. He tugged gently on Sanji’s arm and Sanji went with him, letting Zoro arrange him how he wanted. He ended up with his head against Zoro’s chest, listening to the thumping of his heart with Zoro’s arms around him.

Despite having thought that sleep was impossible, he found himself quickly growing tired. “Hey, make sure I’m awake in time to make breakfast.”

Zoro chuckled and Sanji felt it beneath his head. “You’ll wake up when you wake up, cook. The crew can take care of themselves for a little while.”

Sanji shook his head. “Don’t want any of them near my kitchen.”

Zoro laughed again and Sanji thought, right as he drifted into sleep, that it was a fantastic sound.

(He actually did manage to wake up on time to make breakfast—thank goodness for internal clocks.)

  
“So, how are things between you and our swordsman?” Robin asked.

Sanji placed her cup of coffee in front of her and sat down across from her with his. Robin was plagued by insomnia and nightmares more often then he was, perhaps more than anyone on the ship, and it had become a ritual of theirs to wake up before the sun and share a coffee. Robin liked hers with two spoons of sugar and a splash of cream, as opposed to Sanji, who wanted his nearly as pale as himself.

“Good.” He said after a while, the sun starting to peak over the horizon. No one had really said anything about what was going on between him and Zoro; neither of them had seen the need to make any sort of announcement about it, nor did they see any need to hide it.

“I’m glad. We had wondered how long it would take.”

“We?”

Robin nodded, taking a drink of her coffee. “Brook and myself. Apparently, he was rather moved by your... actions on Thriller Bark. He actually thought the two of you were already together.”

Sanji frowned, staring at the top of the table. The memories of Thriller Bark were still a little fuzzy in places, a combination of injury and stress, but he very clearly remembered stumbling forward, trying to convince the warlord to take him instead of Zoro.

“At the time, I didn’t even think about what I was doing,” Sanji said, “I just knew I couldn’t let it happen.”

“You always have been very protective of our crew.” Robin said, hiding her smile behind her cup. There was a sadness in her eyes however, and Sanji stretched his arm out, placing his hand over hers. The sadness disappeared and her smile grew.

“Still, I think your devotion to Zoro far outranks the care you have for the rest of us. Which isn’t a bad thing. Everyone needs someone like that.”

“I’m his for as long as he’ll have me.” He let go of her hand and grabbed his cup instead. “And possibly even after that.”

 


End file.
